The Year of the Snake

何威廉

The Year of the Snake
By William He

Medusa's walk creates sound of Zither,
Fey stretches scenery of the East beyond belief,
The soft vibrations of seraphic tone.
Across windswept hills and beaches,
Finding the guiding cloud,
Folks belted by intricate beats on diverse points.
The willow talking to the peach,
They are anxious to be heeded.
The cobra sways and entrances in glee.
Being taken on the video site Youku,
They smilingly give their poses and have things to tell.

In the serpent shadow the emerald scales shimmer,
The leaves in prayers pinned,
Hiding their wriggling with a faint smile.
Enigma wrapped in a riddle,
Half-closed Snake Eyes,
In the hushed whispers of the jungle.
There is a spectacle of fear and delight,
Hammering away what is loathsome,
Lost in the scansion created by people themselves then.
DeepSeek for the springtime,
Everything and nothing interrelated now.

念奴娇 乙巳蛇年
作者：何威廉

错齐紫绿，
见弯环八彩，
幽蕙微磬。
翠雾蓝峰，
叠影下、
信意群鸥吟咏。
柳眼朦忪，
桃腮娇软，
闪颤唇绒净。
图频优酷，
若浓若淡遮映。

蚺影晃动窗前，
青阳易辙，
惘然忧安定。
侧目昙花，
出眼界、
迷岸人家魔镜。
幻像纷纭，
尘忧暂缺，
只觉风光剩。
深玄求索，
淡烟撒落三径。



Notes:
“Year of the Snake”: The snake is the sixth of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Snake is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol. In Chinese symbology, snakes are regarded as intelligent, with a tendency to lack scruples.“Medusa”: In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair.“Snake eyes”: The outcome of ‘snake eyes’ is a common occurrence in many dice games, where two dies are rolled and the result comes up as one pip on each. Snake eyes refers to rolling a pair of ones (1-1) on the dice, a unique outcome given its rare occurrence in the game of craps, with only a 1 in 36 chance.